DADU DISTRICT AT A GLANCE

History

District Dadu was formed in April 1931 from Larkana and Karachi District. It is situated on right bank of River Indus. The first Collector of District Dadu was Rai Bahadur Jagat Singh. The Collector’s building was constructed in 1931. The Local Board was made functional from 18th April 1933 & its first president was Khan Bahadur Mohammad Paryal Khan Kalhoro. Khudabad village of this District had remained the capital of Kalhora dynasty as late as 1768 A.D. The popular trade system was “Hundhi” in the District. The source of income was agriculture & cattle. In fact this District developed after Independence. The Indus Highway was also constructed after Independence. From 1991 untill 14th December 2004, Dadu remained the largest District of Sindh province where after it was bifurcated and a new District Jamshoro was created on 13.12.2004.

At present this District comprises four talukas i.e. Dadu, Johi, Khairpur Nathan Shah & Mehar. Its area is 7866 square kilometers. It lies between 24 –57 and 27-27 north latitude and 67 - 09 to 68 - 25 east longitudes. It is bounded on the north by Larkana district, on the east by Naushero Feroze and Nawabshah districts, on the south by Jamshoro district, on south – west by Lasbela and Khuzdar districts of Balochistan province. its population is around 18,25,000. The majority of the population is Muslim. They can be divided into two major groups Samaat and Baloch. The Samaat includes Panhwar, Solangi, Memon, Soomro, Sheikh, Bhund and others. The Baloch includes Jamali, Khoso, Lund, Chandio, Jatoi and others.

District Dadu is unique for many reasons. It contains ancient rock carvings & inscriptions, fossils, ancient remains of Zoroastrianism & Buddhism, ancient places, Islamic architectures, mountains, resorts & Gorakh Station Hill Station, the only hill station in Sindh. It has versatile geography. It has direct flood threats from two sides i.e. one from river Indus and other from hill torrents (Khirthar Mountain Rang). It has three kinds of land i.e. Kaachho (the land irrigated by hill torrents/rain water), Katcho (the land irrigated by river Indus directly) and Pacco (the land irrigated by barrage/irrigation system). The only hill station i.e. Gorakh Hill Station is situated in this district. The hill station is at 5688 square feet’s height and is at three hours derive distance from District Courts Complex, Dadu.

Tombs & Shrines of Saints

District Dadu is famous for its saints. Tombs and shrines of Shaheed Makhdoom Bilawal, Gaji Shah, Ameer Pir, Saeedi Moosani and Syed Mahosan Shah are notables in all over the Pakistan. Tomb of Shaheed Makhdoom Bilawal is at ten kilometers distance from District Courts Complex, Dadu. It is famous that he was grinded in a grinder in 1522 A.D. on false allegations of disrespecting holy verses of Quran. Gaji Shah was the commander of Mianwal Movement. His tomb is situated at border of Sindh & Balochistan provinces. Ameer Pir is also called Rajal Pir. His shrine is situated in an old village Aminai which is at nine kilometer’s distance from District Courts Complex, Dadu. Saeedi Moosani’ tomb is in taluka Mehar and Syed Mahosan Shah’s shrine is in Chhano Shahababd, Dadu.

Apart from above renowned saints, there are many other graves, shrines and tombs in this district where people bring their kiths and kins when they return disappointed from doctors.

Production and Natural Resources

Agriculture is back bone of District Dadu but the livelihood of its people also depends on other resources such as inland fisheries, industries livestock and mineral explorations etc. Wheat, cotton, sugarcane and rice are major crops in this district. Along with fish forms, many people’s main economic activity of fishing is practiced in river Indus and hill torrents. Mehar town is famous for its milk product “Mao” and “Mahendi”.

Apart from above, this district is rich in natural resources i.e. oil and gas. Three oil exploration companies viz. BHP, Polish and ENI are engaged in exploring crude oil and gas. At Zamama plant in taluka Johi, petroleum operation is consisted on eight wells. The natural gas of worth million rupees is being sold to SSGCl. Moreover, there is a sugar mill in an old village Piyaro Goath of this district which produces sugar and its bi-products from sugarcane crop.